All posts tagged ‘MindGear’

Time to go back to school. Picture by Rebecca Feind, Creative Commons License.

I am starting a new public-access prototyping lab in Huntsville, Alabama, called MindGear Labs, based on the fab lab model. I’ve dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur and have done a fair amount of research on the topic. But this is my first attempt at starting a business. Here is where I document weekly my mistakes and successes in creating a business from the ground up.

As summer comes to a close, like many other people I have education on my mind. I’ve been thinking about a number of items related to teaching. The concept of a fab lab came from a university (MIT) and was taught as a class (How to Make Almost Anything). There’s a lot of opportunity to use the lab to teach if I can properly incorporate it, and I feel like there are several paths that I need to consider.

How do I teach others how to use the equipment? Really, the difficulty is in teaching others how to use various design software to create. Any of these pieces of software could require its own class, with several hours of instruction. If each and every member that walks into the lab needs that before they can make anything then I doubt I’ll be able to hold on to members. Fortunately there are severalwebsites out there that post designs ready to be fed to the appropriate machines. Also, in a town like Huntsville, I can expect many, if not most, of the people that walk through my door to have some level of knowledge of various CAD software. As for the rest, I’m looking at various open source codes. Right now I’m playing with Google Sketch-up. Its a pretty powerful tool and intuitive to start with, but like most software these days it annoys me by trying too hard to predict what I’m trying to do (iOS spell check – I’m speaking to you.)

More importantly, how to I teach others to be creative? Or rather, can you teach creativity. That was my topic last week, and I said then that all I can really do is remind people to not be afraid to be creative and to foster an environment where everyone feels comfortable bringing out any crazy idea they have. Which means I’ll have to be a leader and bring out my crazy ideas. Fortunately I have a lot of crazy ideas. Like I don’t know … starting a fab lab.

I plan to offer classes at MindGear. But there are a lot of organizations out there offering classes on all sorts of subjects. It makes sense; there isn’t a high barrier to entry for offering a class, just a classroom and knowledge on a subject (and a few classes I’ve attended seem to skimp on that last requirement.) I’d like to think that I have an advantage here in that I get to offer classes where I have lab equipment. So I’ll want to work in the capabilities of the lab as much as possible in any class offering. That’s fine, because isn’t it better to learn with hands-on experience?

I’d like MindGear to be a good corporate citizen. I’ve thought about working with some non-profits I’ve met to offer retraining for adults that are having trouble finding work and wish to retrain. That’s complicated though because I’m not accredited in any way, so I couldn’t send these retrained adults out to find jobs with anything more than a recommendation from me. I have started to reach out to some local vocational schools and related organizations, but clearly I have a lot to do in this area.

Another area I’d like to get into is working with kids. Right now my son is working for his Geology activity badge for Webelos. I’d like to be able to offer Boy and Girl Scouts the opportunity to earn badges related to science and engineering. And the nice part of this is that it also allows me to engage the community. There’s a lot of details to be worked out here too, learning all the requirements for the different belt loops, activity pins, merit badges and whatnot. I don’t even know what different award levels the Girl Scouts use, but I intend to find out.

In all these areas I have to meet the challenge of educating while being fun. That is quite a challenge, its hard enough to be entertaining without the added requirement of being educational. And organizing and presenting information to be easily digested is equally difficult without the added requirement of engaging the audience. But like chocolate and peanut butter there is an incredible payback to skillfully integrating fun and learning. The material gets across much better, people come back for more, and most importantly I don’t have to stand in front of class asking, “Anyone, anyone?”

I am starting a new public-access prototyping lab in Huntsville, Alabama, called MindGear Labs, based on the fab lab model. I’ve dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur and have done a fair amount of research on the topic. But this is my first attempt at starting a business. Here is where I document weekly my mistakes and successes in creating a business from the ground up.

I’m back. Most of me, anyway. Still mending a broken arm and holes in my foot. But otherwise I’m doing ok. Thanks to all of you that sent me well wishes.

As I promised in my last post I have some good news. First I’ve signed a lease and work is commencing on getting the space ready for opening. For the Huntsville natives reading, the space is in the Beacon Ridge Office Center off Hwy 20/Madison Blvd east of Hughes Road. Second, with a location I was finally able to close on the SBA loan. I should start ordering equipment next week. Third, after several setbacks I have a web development company under contract and hope to have a website up by the end of the month. The current site I did myself and needs a lot of work. Finally, it looks like months and months of networking is paying off. I’ve had several people tell me they have heard of MindGear from others which has translated into invitations to talk and business leads.

So with all that I’m planning to open in November. Had to push back opening yet again because the arm is slowing me down. I remember fondly of the time I thought I’d be open by July.

Lately I’ve been thinking of ways to promote the creative spirit of members while they’re working in the lab. Doing a little research gave some well known ideas, like playing classical music or generating a citrus aroma. The effectiveness of these methods is disputed. One option is to apply micro-ampere current through the earlobes. I think that would have to be an optional service. A Moderate amount of noise is supposed to be better than low or high noise in fostering creativity. That explains how I couldn’t concentrate at the library in college. Solid blue color is supposed to enhance creativity while red improves attention to detail.

A big part of promoting creativity is creating a culture that celebrates creativity amongst the membership. That is a more complicated problem. If you’ve been around engineers at all you know we as a group aren’t shy about telling someone they have a dumb idea. And the more pessimistic engineers (they prefer to be called experienced) will try to kill good ideas that they perceive as too daring or too similar to previously attempted projects.

So I’ve got to promote a tolerance for others’ ideas. But even that causes issues. I once had a half hour discussion with a man who was convinced that he had solved the automotive transportation problem. He was going to take an old car and install additional alternators and an electric motor. After initial start with an engine the alternators would generate enough power to keep the car moving. I could not get him to understand that in the process of generating electricity the alternator would create a retarding torque that would slow the car down. I gave up when he finally decided he would need to add more alternators. The gentleman in question was genuinely nice and our conversation was a genial one. I’ve wondered what I will do when someone like him comes into the lab. Do I continue to try to convince him that his idea violates the laws of physics, spending time and effort when I could be doing something productive and risk alienating the man, or do I let him explore the idea on his own, possibly looking like I’m callously profiting from his ignorance of perpetual motion machines?

It seems to me that there is a lot of discussion on how to promote creativity but precious little quantifiable data. I guess that makes sense. If we knew for sure how to stimulate our brains we’d go through life having classical music constantly played at us, walking through bright red colored rooms with the smell of lemons filling our nostrils. Or something like that. Like everything else about MindGear, I’ll experiment and see what works. Let me know if you know of any ways to create a creative environment.

I am starting a new public accessible prototyping lab in Huntsville, Alabama, called MindGear Labs based on the fab lab model. I’ve dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur and have done a fair amount of research on the topic. But this is my first attempt at starting a business. Here is where I document weekly my mistakes and successes in creating a business from the ground up.

I’m close to finalizing a new location. Hopefully I’ll be able to announce that next week. A new location means a new layout. I wrote in the past about the layout for the last location, but losing that location was an opportunity to take some time and reevaluate my approach for a lot of MindGear’s operations. So I’ve had some ideas on how to make the layout for MindGear even better.

There are a lot of different projects that I imagine people will build at MindGear. My old layout had a number of similar workbenches that members could use to assemble their projects. But now I’m thinking having a bunch of the same tables might not be the best solution. For instance someone working on a project involving small components and minute detail would want a high table. That way they could sit or stand as needed while doing meticulous work. Some projects will involve building as a team. I’d like to have some sort of turntable that several people could sit around and work on different parts of the assembly at the same time. I’ve already planned some tables to be available for design work, so those would be similar to computer stations. Also I intend to offer classes, so I need a classroom area. Finally, I’ve been thinking about how to offer more isolated stations. Most of my planned designs stations have been clumped four at a time around a power source. Some people may prefer more solitude when working. Continue Reading “A Start Up Trek – Turning Tables” »

I am starting a new public accessible prototyping lab in Huntsville, Alabama, called MindGear Labs based on the fab lab model. I’ve dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur and have done a fair amount of research on the topic. But this is my first attempt at starting a business. Here is where I document weekly my mistakes and successes in creating a business from the ground up.

Well for the second week in a row I’m a day behind on my post. I could have written yesterday but I was on some pretty interesting painkillers from minor foot surgery. Apparently I was the hit of my Pathfinder gaming group last night. Too bad I don’t remember much of it.

I am transitioning this blog as of this entry. I have spent most of my time discussing the business and financial aspects of starting a new business. In the past few months I’ve built more spreadsheets than I can count, read a half dozen books on accounting and business management, and written nearly 20 articles on the subject. I’ve really run out of things to write on this subject. Certainly there is plenty to be discussed here, but I was struggling to find topics that didn’t reveal too much about my specific business plan. Also I think if I have to read another accounting book I may go cross-eyed.

MindGear’s interactions with various entities. Drawn by me. And yes, I took a picture of the drawing with my iPhone.

I am starting a new public accessible prototyping lab in Huntsville, Alabama, called MindGear Labs based on the fab lab model. I’ve dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur and have done a fair amount of research on the topic. But this is my first attempt at starting a business. Here is where I document weekly my mistakes and successes in creating a business from the ground up.

First, sorry for the delay on this post. It took me a lot longer than I planned to draw the accompanying image. I found that Sunday night I had no time left to write this post. And after the time I put into the sketch I didn’t want to just slap together a post.

So the sketch. You may have heard of the engines of commerce. I see an engine as a metaphor for business now, and I sketched out how that engine works so I could understand it more completely. The typical engine uses the chemical energy of a fuel and converts it to work, generally in the form of a rotating shaft that can turn a wheel, or a generator, or a pump or fan, etc. A business converts raw materials into finished goods, and people’s time and expertise into money.

I am starting a new public accessible prototyping lab in Huntsville, Alabama, called MindGear Labs based on the fab lab model. I’ve dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur and have done a fair amount of research on the topic. But this is my first attempt at starting a business. Here is where I document weekly my mistakes and successes in creating a business from the ground up.

I’d like to finish the process of registering a new business. I started this discussion two weeks ago but only covered how I decided on which organizational format (Limited Liability Company or LLC) and IRS filing format (subchapter S). I planned on a second part that would cover licenses and other filings which I’ll talk about today. I was going to cover it last week but when my planned location fell through I found myself behind on these filings. In fact, I still haven’t finished some of these filings, because I am still working on a new location. So like last time take anything you read here as my experiences for my situation. If you start a business you’ll find differences based on the kind of business and where you’re located.

Actually all of these permits and licenses are dependent on what sort of business I’m starting. For instance, for a retail store like mine I have to file initial privilege tax forms. These forms allow me to collect sales taxes and send them to the government. Is that a ‘privilege’? In my case I have to collect 3.5% for the State of Alabama, .5% for Madison County, and 4% for the City of Huntsville. Continue Reading “A Start Up Trek – Now Official Part 2″ »

I am starting a new public accessible prototyping lab in Huntsville, Alabama, called MindGear Labs based on the fab lab model. I’ve dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur and have done a fair amount of research on the topic. But this is my first attempt at starting a business. Here is where I document weekly my mistakes and successes in creating a business from the ground up.

Sometimes I get to Sunday and although I’ve thought about it all week, I don’t know what I’m going to write. This week was hectic at the day job, and I spent the weekend traveling to Raleigh to see the mini-Maker Faire. (It was awesome, and my kudos to the organizers, who gave me numerous tips for starting a Faire in Huntsville next year.) Now I’m getting ready to leave and pick up my son for a Father’s Day dinner.

I’m at a bit of a crossroads here. I started this idea for MindGear with the belief that I had a good idea and that I would give it a year and see if it caught on. I didn’t expect to decide to open a store and then throw open the doors a few weeks later, but I’ve been writing here about my experiences for four months, and I was working on the concept before that. Most of that time I’ve been waiting; waiting to have my loan application approved, waiting to be able to start my business, waiting to see if my real estate agent will get called back on the properties I want to see, waiting to hear back from others on various things I am consulting with them on. Continue Reading “A Start Up Trek – Crossroads” »

I am starting a new public accessible prototyping lab in Huntsville, Alabama, called MindGear Labs based on the fab lab model. I’ve dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur and have done a fair amount of research on the topic. But this is my first attempt at starting a business. Here is where I document weekly my mistakes and successes in creating a business from the ground up.

I finally, finally made MindGear official last week. There now is an entity called MindGear Labs, LLC. That’s the good news. I’ll get to the bad news in a minute.

A while back a reader asked me to go into the details of how to incorporate a business. I’m going to talk about my experience and thought process here. But you should not take anything I say as advice on how to incorporate your business. Frankly there are far better resources out there that will educate you on the options. Also my information is specific to Huntsville, Alabama. If you’re starting something anywhere else then the rules will be different. And if you are in Huntsville, remember I’m not an attorney or CPA or anyone you should be taking advice from. </disclaimer>

Basically I saw four major topics surrounding how I should organize MindGear. First was the paperwork. What was going to be required for the initial filing and what was going to be filed every year? Second was the liability issue. Did I want to create a separate entity so if someone decides to sue MindGear they can’t come after my personal assets? (Not that I have much in personal assets right now; they’ve mostly been liquidated to fund MindGear.) Third was how would I eventually extract funds from the business. Finally there were issues around involving other investors. In the future how would I allow others to buy ownership of MindGear or buy the company outright?

I am starting a new public accessible prototyping lab in Huntsville, Alabama, called MindGear Labs based on the fab lab model. I’ve dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur and have done a fair amount of research on the topic. But this is my first attempt at starting a business. Here is where I document weekly my mistakes and successes in creating a business from the ground up.

I had a great post planned for this week. I’ve been reading and reading about financial statements, how to manage a business properly, diagnosing a business based on its financials, etc. Also I found a slew of rules of thumb for businesses. Those of you who read last week’s post may remember that I lamented on the lack of rules of thumb for businesses. I even titled that post “Rules of Thumb” because I’m clever like that. So I was going to combine all of this into a post on the interactions between different parts of a business and illustrate those interactions in a sketch.

You may note that this post isn’t called “Rules of Thumb 2″ or “Rules of Thumb: The Revenge” or something like that. Sadly this post isn’t that great post I had percolating in the back of my head all week. No doubt you’re now on the edge of your seat now, pounding the table, demanding to know why you’re reading this crappy post instead of the great one I had planned. Okay, sit back; I’ll explain myself. Continue Reading “A Start Up Trek – Creative Commons” »

I am starting a new public accessible prototyping lab in Huntsville, Alabama, called MindGear Labs based on the fab lab model. I’ve dreamed of becoming an entrepreneur and have done a fair amount of research on the topic. But this is my first attempt at starting a business. Here is where I document weekly my mistakes and successes in creating a business from the ground up.

I have big news to announce today. The bank approved my loan request. So MindGear is going to happen. I’ll be honest: when the bank called me my first reaction was stunned silence. It was pretty overwhelming to get that news, and I spent that evening thinking “What do I do now?” The next morning I woke up ready to take on the challenge again. I wonder if other people who’ve started a business have felt the same way.

The bad news is that I don’t yet have all of what I was going to contribute. I was going to borrow the majority of my contribution from my retirement plan, but unfortunately they have an arbitrary cap on what they allow folks to borrow. I’m able to pull about half of my share. I have some options to raise the other half, but it will be tight. This situation drives me to look again at doing a crowdsourcing campaign, either with Kickstarter or RocketHub. Continue Reading “A Start Up Trek – Resource Management” »